Live updates: Israel’s military calls for more evacuations in southern Gaza, dimming hopes for another temporary truce

Israel’s military called for more evacuations in southern Gaza as it widened its offensive aimed at eliminating the territory’s Hamas rulers. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, who are running out of safe places to go.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,500, with more than 41,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70 percent of the dead were women and children.

WATCH: Israeli offensive turns to southern Gaza as hopes of reviving truce dwindle

Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods. It claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Israel says at least 81 of its soldiers have died.

Hopes for another temporary truce faded after Israel called its negotiators home over the weekend. Hamas said talks on releasing more of the scores of hostages seized by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7 must be tied to a permanent cease-fire.

The United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, which mediated the earlier cease-fire, say they are working on a longer truce.

Currently:

• 3 commercial ships hit by missiles in Houthi attack in Red Sea, US warship downs 3 drones
• Biden’s allies in Senate demand that Israel limit civilian deaths in Gaza as Congress debates U.S. aid

Here’s what’s happening in the war:

5:40 p.m. ET

Hillary Clinton, Sen. Gillibrand call on women’s groups to condemn Hamas

UNITED NATIONS — Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and top technology executive Sheryl Sandberg are demanding that women’s groups and women everywhere condemn Hamas’ acts of sexual violence against Israeli women and girls on Oct. 7.

Israel has said it is investigating several cases of sexual assault and rape from the Hamas attack. Israel hosted a special event at the United Nations on Monday where Clinton, Gillibrand and Sandberg were among those who criticized what they called a global failure to support women who were rapped, sexually assaulted and in some cases killed.

READ MORE: Global journalist group says Israel-Hamas war is beyond compare for media deaths

Clinton said in a video message, “It is outrageous that some who claim to stand for justice are closing their eyes and their hearts to the victims of Hamas.”

Sandberg, the former second-ranking official at Facebook who stepped down as chief operating officer of its parent Meta Platforms in August 2022, said “the silence on the crimes committed by Hamas is dangerous” because it threatens to undo decades of progress to confront sexual violence against women.

Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said rape has been used as a weapon of war for centuries and more recently in former Yugoslavia, in Iran, and in Ukraine by Russian soldiers. She called on the U.N. to condemn “these evil crimes.” She said the international community “must demand accountability for these intolerable crimes.”

Families of hostages held by Hamas will meet with Netanyahu

TEL AVIV, Israel — The families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza say they are set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after demanding a sit-down with him.

The families have sought to meet with Netanyahu and his wartime Cabinet since a truce deal between Israel and Hamas that saw the release of 105 hostages expired last week. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, many families have complained that they were not adequately kept informed of the efforts to secure their loved ones’ release. About 240 people were taken hostage.

The families say Netanyahu and other leaders have for days dodged their requests to meet. The meeting is expected to take place Tuesday.

The families say they want to hear from Netanyahu that he has their relatives’ fate in mind as Israel moves ahead in its war against Hamas.

Video appears to show Oct. 7 kidnapping

TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli TV channel has aired new footage that appears to show an Israeli woman struggling against her seven captors as she was being taken hostage into Gaza on Oct. 7.

The video is said to show Amit Soussana, 40, being dragged on foot into Gaza. She appears to try to slow her captors down by bending over. One captor then throws her body over his back and she is seen kicking her legs, what appears to make him fall to the ground. The captors, one of whom is seen striking her, then drape a sheet over her and drag her into Gaza. One of the captors is seen carrying a rifle.

Soussana was released last week after more than 50 days in captivity as part of a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The footage, shot by a security camera, was broadcast Monday on Israeli Channel 12 TV.

UN chief renews call for cease-fire

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “extremely alarmed” at the resumption of hostilities in Gaza and is reiterating his call for a sustained humanitarian cease-fire and his appeal to Israel to spare civilians from more suffering.

The U.N. chief is also calling on Israel and Hamas to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday. The laws state that civilians must not be targeted deliberately or indiscriminately, and that military operations must be proportionate.

Israel has called for mass evacuations from the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, but the secretary-general says “there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on,” according to the statement from his spokesman.

Guterres reiterated his call for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip, Dujarric said.

“The secretary-general also remains gravely concerned about the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank, including intensified Israeli security operations, high numbers of fatalities and arrests, spiking settler violence and attacks on Israelis by Palestinians,” the U.N. spokesman said.

11:58 a.m. EST

Donation to Ben-Gurion University

JERUSALEM — A Canadian-Israeli philanthropist has donated $100 million to Israel’s Ben-Gurion University as part of an effort to help southern Israel recover from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Sylvan Adams says “it is crucial that we strengthen Israel’s south to ensure that Israelis feel safe and secure to rebuild their lives” in the Negev desert area.

The university said the funds are part of an effort to advance education and campus life.

President Daniel Chamovitz said the gift would help it focus on a number of key areas, including the future of the Negev region, environmental technologies and global health.

The university says that 82 members of its community, including students, staff, faculty and family members, were killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel also says Gaza death toll is at least 15,000

BEER SHEVA, Israel – At least 15,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died during the fighting in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli army official said Monday, offering a figure that is more or less in line with the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry’s.

The Israeli army said it considers more than 5,000 of the Gaza deaths to be Hamas militants.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday during a news conference in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, that 15,899 people had been killed in Gaza since the Oct. 7 start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Ashraf al-Qidra, a ministry spokesperson, said women and children account for 70% of the dead. The ministry did not provide precise statistics on the breakdown of the death toll.

10:02 a.m. EST

Red Cross chief says civilian suffering ‘intolerable’

GENEVA — The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross is visiting Gaza in an effort to ease the conflict’s “intolerable” toll on civilians, the organization said Monday.

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric “will call for the protection of civilians in Gaza and respect for the laws of war. She will also reiterate the ICRC’s call for the hostages to be immediately released,” it said in a statement.

“The level of human suffering is intolerable,” Spoljaric said. “It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible.”

The ICRC has been providing supplies to health care facilities and livelihood support for displaced people, the statement said. ICRC medical teams are also helping conduct surgeries at Gaza’s European Hospital.

“We have urgently appealed for civilian life to be protected and respected on all sides, in line with international humanitarian law, and I reiterate that appeal today,” Spoljaric said.

A child sits in a tent as Palestinians, who fled their houses amid Israeli strikes, shelter at a United Nations-run school, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
 TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Turkish president says Netanyahu should be tried for alleged war crimes

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be put on trial for alleged war crimes just like former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

A vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, Erdogan once again referred to Netanyahu as the “butcher of Gaza.”

“Netanyahu, the butcher of Gaza, is not only a war criminal, but he will definitely be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just like Milosevic was tried,” Erdogan said in a speech at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.

WATCH: Blinken urges Israel to comply with international law and spare civilians in war against Hamas

The Israeli prime minister would need to be indicted by an international tribunal in order to stand trial for alleged war crimes. Milosevic was put on trial by a U.N. tribunal in The Hague on charges of fomenting bloody conflicts as Yugoslavia crumbled in the early 1990s. He died in his cell before the court could reach a verdict.

Erdogan also renewed his criticism of the United Nations system, accusing the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council of blocking efforts to end the violence.

“On the one side, there are 121 countries that say ‘stop the war’ and ‘no more bloodshed,’ and on the other side, there are three or five countries that give carte blanche to Israel’s attacks,” Erdogan said.

Rights groups call for a halt in Dutch exports of fighter jet parts to Israel

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Human rights lawyers went to court in the Netherlands on Monday calling for a halt to the export of fighter jet parts to Israel that could be used in attacks on Gaza.

The rights organizations say that delivery of parts for F-35 jets makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes by Israel in its war with Hamas.

The civil case in The Hague opened as the Israeli military renewed calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.

The rights lawyers want The Hague District Court to issue an injunction banning exports of F-35 parts that are stored in a warehouse in the town of Woensdrecht.

“The state must immediately stop its delivery of F-35 parts to Israel,” lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told the court.

She said Dutch customs officials asked the government if it wanted to continue exports after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that triggered the Israel-Hamas war.

“The warning that the fighter jets can contribute to serious breaches of the laws of war does not, for the (Dutch) state outweigh its economic interests and diplomatic reputation,” she said.

Government lawyer Reimer Veldhuis urged the court’s single judge to reject the injunction, saying that even if it were to uphold the rights lawyers’ legal arguments and ban exports, “the United States would deliver these parts to Israel from another place.”

A decision is expected within two weeks. It can be appealed.

A helicopter fires a rocket, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumes

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial has resumed after a hiatus prompted by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the war it set off.

Netanyahu is on trial for alleged fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies any wrongdoing.

In Monday’s hearing, police investigators will be questioned over allegations that Netanyahu promoted regulatory benefits for a telecom company in exchange for favorable coverage from a news outlet it owned.

Netanyahu’s lengthy trial, which began in 2020, was paused after the Hamas attack, when the country’s courts were put under emergency status and all but shut down. The last hearing took place at the end of September.

Head of Shin Bet says it will destroy Hamas ‘in every place’

TEL AVIV, Israel — The head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, says his organization is prepared to destroy Hamas “in every place,” including in other Middle Eastern countries.

The remarks by Ronen Bar, aired late Sunday by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, echoed similar comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister last month.

“In every place, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everywhere,” Bar said in an audio recording. “It’ll take a few years but we will be there to do it.”

Bar compared the mission to Israel’s operation to assassinate militants behind the 1972 killings of members of its Olympic team in Munich, Germany.

Kan did not say when Bar made the remarks.

Most of Hamas’ top leadership lives in exile, primarily in the Gulf state of Qatar, a key player in bringing about the recently expired truce between Israel and Hamas, and the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Israel’s Mossad spy agency has been accused of involvement in a series of assassinations overseas of Palestinian militants and Iranian nuclear scientists over the years.

An Israeli soldier operates in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on December 4, 2023. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Young Israeli hostages return to social media after being freed

TEL AVIV, Israel — Freed from Hamas captivity, several young Israelis are doing what young people do and are posting to TikTok.

Dancing, keeping up with trends or just thanking their followers, several young Israelis have begun appearing on social media just days after they were freed.

Alma Or, 13, who was released after 50 days in captivity, posted a video in which she dances with a friend under the text “Roses are red this trend might be over but I’ve just been freed from Hamas captivity.”

WATCH: Israeli physician describes mental and physical recovery ahead for released hostages

Sahar Kalderon, 16, posted a video of herself and a friend dancing to a beat-infused track in front of a mirror, under text reading “The sound that crossed though my head the moment I came home from captivity.”

Another freed captive, Gali Tarshansky, 13, has posted at least two videos since being freed, with one captioned “Captives humor.”

Under a now-expired truce deal, Hamas released 105 Israeli and foreign captives it snatched on Oct. 7. Most returned physically well but doctors have cautioned it will take time for them to heal emotionally from their weeks in captivity. Four other hostages were released before the truce and one was rescued.

Israel says it has expanded ground operations to ‘every part’ of Gaza Strip

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has expanded its ground operation against the Hamas militant group to “every part” of the Gaza Strip.

The army resumed its offensive on Friday after a weeklong cease-fire expired. After focusing its ground operation on the northern part of Gaza in recent weeks, it began carrying out airstrikes in southern Gaza as well. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has fled to the south in search of safety.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said late Sunday that ground troops were also pushing into the south.

“The Israeli army is continuing and expanding the ground operation against the Hamas presence in every part of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Britain to use drones to search for hostages in Gaza

LONDON — The British government said its military plans to fly unarmed surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip in search of hostages taken by Hamas.

The Ministry of Defense said the flights will not have a combat role and the only information passed on will be for the purpose of rescuing hostages still held since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

The fate of the hostages, including British nationals, has been a key concern as a weeklong cease-fire ended Friday and Israel began a new round of bombardments. During the break in fighting, Hamas released 110 hostages but another 137 remain captive, Israel said.

“Having had around 100 hostages released, there are still many more who are being held captive by Hamas,” Health Secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News on Sunday. “We want to do everything we can to help find those hostages and to secure their release.”

Atkins said unmanned drones will be used to conduct the surveillance.

Smoke rises, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Italian naval ship receives first patient

ROME — An Italian naval ship, anchored off Egypt on Sunday, has received its first patient as part of the Italian government’s commitment to care for civilians needing medical assistance in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The Italian defense ministry, in a post on social medium platform X, quoted Defense Minister Guido Crosetto as saying that a girl was the first person to receive treatment aboard the ship, Vulcano. No details were given about her medical condition.

The ship’s facilities include operating rooms.

Pope calls for Israel and Hamas to follow ‘courageous paths of peace’

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has called the end of the truce in the Israel-Hamas “painful.”

“That means death, destruction and misery,” the pontiff said on Sunday in remarks read for him by an aide because he has bronchitis.

The pope, noting that many hostages are still held in Gaza, said “Let’s think of them, of their families, who had seen a light, a hope of embracing again their loved ones.”

He also lamented the lack of basic necessities of life in Gaza. “I hope that all who are involved can reach as soon as possible a new accord for a cease-fire and find solutions that are different than weapons, trying to follow courageous paths of peace.”

Harris calls scale of civilian suffering in Gaza ‘devastating’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Israel in its war with Hamas “must do more to protect innocent civilians.”

The vice president noted in remarks to reporters at the United Nations climate conference that Israel is within its rights to defend itself after the brutal Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, yet the U.S. ally must do so in accordance with international law.

“As Israel defends itself, it matters how,” Harris said. “The United States is unequivocal: International humanitarian law must be respected. Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.”